Google experiment uses balloons to beam Internet down to Earthlings

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND – Google revealed top-secret plans Saturday to send balloons to the edge of space with the lofty aim of bringing Internet to the two-thirds of the global population currently without web access.

While still in the early stages, Project Loon hopes eventually to launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet to remote parts of the world, allowing the more than 4 billion people with no access to get online.

It could also be used to help after natural disasters, when existing communication infrastructure is affected.

“Project Loon is an experimental technology for balloon-powered Internet access,” the company said on its latest project from its clandestine Google (x), “where we work on radical, sci-fi-sounding technology solutions to solve really big world problems.”

“Balloons, carried by the wind at altitudes twice as high as commercial planes, can beam Internet access to the ground at speeds similar to today’s 3G networks or faster,” it added.

“It is very early days, but we think a ring of balloons, flying around the globe on the stratospheric winds, might be a way to provide affordable Internet access to rural, remote, and underserved areas down on Earth below, or help after disasters, when existing communication infrastructure is affected.”

It’s quite interesting how they will guarantee absence of such balloons in areas of spaceship launches.

Ericzipp

With what Google did with the Google cars does anyone really doubt that this isn’t a way they are looking to grow the Google/NSA spy grid. Using wifi could they look into your houses and watch you picking your nose or whatever else you do at home. We know the kinect system can not only tell where you are in your house but that it can see what you are doing anywhere in your house.